Rose and Alec
by hawkerin
Summary: Sequel to Penance. Rose is pregnant and there's a wedding to plan. Warning, this is fluffy enough to give you cavities.
1. Chapter 1

Alec and Rose had been living in the mansion for too long, he decided. Alright, it had only been a few months, but living with his future in laws was not what he had in mind at his age. Jackie Tyler was a force of nature and even with them staying in their private suite of rooms in the large mansion, there was very little privacy.

They were still trying to decide where they were going to live and set themselves up as private investigators. It was taking a while because as soon as they started seriously discussing it, the aforementioned future mother in law would interrupt them with wedding plans.

At the moment, however, all of those things were put on hold. Rose needed him now. Her pregnancy was just starting to show, but she insisted on holding the wedding later. It was the second day of June and they stood together on the beach. There were no high cliffs, and to their knowledge, no children had ever been discovered murdered here. They were not in Broadchurch now. They were in Norway. One year had passed since the death of Doctor John Tyler and Rose was here to pay her respects to her lost husband.

Alec stood back as his fiancée walked to the water's edge, watching for any sign that she needed him.

As Rose looked out at the windswept waves, she whispered, "Hello, Doctor. So much has happened since you've gone. It's not perfect, but life probably never is for long. I won't wish for perfect, because every time I think I've found it, something happens to take it away. So, I'm happy with pretty gosh darn good right now. Alec is wonderful to me. We're getting married soon and I'm pregnant as you can see. I miss you, my Doctor, but I'll be alright."

She walked back into Alec's arms and cried quietly as he held her and rubbed her back soothingly. They stood for a long time on the beach before Rose nodded and wiped her face. She took his hand and they walked back to the car again.

"I'm sorry that I insisted on waiting until next month for the wedding, Alec," Rose said quietly as he drove them back to the bed and breakfast where they were staying.

"Hey, I understand why you did. We are together whether we're married or not, love. As long as I'm with you, that's all that matters," he replied and squeezed her hand supportively.

They stayed in Norway for a few days, enjoying the change of scenery as well as the privacy compared to life at the Tyler mansion. But life demanded that they return to it and they were back in London all too soon.

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"You don't have to come with me, you know," Rose told him, nervously wringing her hands.

"Of course I want to come with you," Alec argued. "Why would you think that I wouldn't want to come with you?"

"Well, it's sort of like girl stuff, you know," she mumbled.

"It's the first chance to see our wee baby, love. I'm not going to miss that," he insisted and carried her bag as they walked to the car. He opened the passenger door for her before climbing into the driver's seat. Since his surgery, he was happy to be allowed to drive again and knew that as the baby grew, it would be more and more difficult for Rose to reach the pedals in the car without being squashed against the steering wheel.

"Why are you so nervous, love?" he asked her as he glanced over to see that she was still fidgeting.

"I just... What if something is wrong? What if..?" Rose babbled.

"Sweetheart, nothing is wrong with our baby. Or with you. Stop worrying," he assured her.

"Ok," she answered, though the tremble in her voice said that she wasn't likely to really stop worrying for quite some time.

They pulled up to the little clinic where the ultrasound would be performed and Alec helped her out of the car. They were a little bit early for their appointment and he had to hold Rose's hands firmly to keep her from chewing on her nails or tearing up the various brochures into little pieces.

Alec couldn't help but think about when he had done this before Daisy was born. He and his ex-wife had been happy together then, but those days were long since over. Still, Daisy was happy to visit with them often and liked Rose quite a bit. So, he wasn't worried about the relationship between his oldest daughter and the woman who would soon be her step mother.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a woman calling Rose in for the ultrasound. A few minutes later, they were seeing the first images on the screen. Something about it though looked different from the way he remembered.

"Congratulations, you two, you're having twins," the technician told them.

"What?" Alec gasped and promptly fainted out of his chair onto the floor.

Rose looked back up to the technician from her fiancé on the floor and asked, "Boys or girls?"

"Hard to say from the way they're positioned. Should we get him some water or something?" she answered.

"What?" Alec mumbled as he struggled to get back up after a moment.

"Nah, I think he'll be alright," Rose said, finally calming down after all of the tension she'd felt all day.

"Did... Did you say twins?" Alec asked, suddenly pacing the room.

"Yes, sir. And here you are, babies' first picture," she replied as she handed a little black and white printout to Rose.

"Thank you," Rose cooed as she looked at the grainy image.

"Yes, yes! Thank you. Thank you very much!" Alec called after the woman leaving the room so that Rose could clean up and put all of her clothing back in place over her belly.

Rose just smiled at him as he helped her back to the car, suddenly jumping around her like she was made of glass. The tables were quite turned from when they'd arrived and he was insisting that she stop worrying.

"You know, Alec, you really need to stop worrying," she said teasingly.

"But Rose, twins!" he nearly shouted as he drove them back to the mansion.

"It's a good thing, yeah?" she questioned, hoping that his nerves were just excitement.

"Of course it is! It's bloody brilliant!" he responded adamantly. "I just don't understand how you can be so calm now! After all of your worrying earlier, now you're completely fine."

"I don't know. It's like I could tell that there was something that felt, I dunno, different than I thought it should. Now, I know they're fine and maybe it was because there's two or something. Or maybe it's just the reassurance of being able to see them?" she suggested.

Alec smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "You are magnificent, love."

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Rose's dress was a light cream colour with an empire waist to camouflage her slight baby bump, lace overlay, and stopped around mid-calf. She had little matching ballet flats and her hair was pinned up with a few loose curls.

Pete and Jackie both walked her through the backyard of the mansion toward where Alec was waiting. In the many folding chairs that surrounded them, she saw all of her friends from Broadchurch as well as those from Torchwood. Many of those had also been at her wedding to the Doctor, years ago, but they had supported her after his death and were more than happy to see her happy and moving on.

Alec wore a blue-green kilt, white shirt, shirt black jacket, and a black bow tie. Rose thought he looked absolutely delicious in his formal Scottish attire. She couldn't wait to find out just what he was or wasn't wearing underneath it.

The ceremony was short, but still managed to have most of the women in tears with the sweet sincerity of it all. They exchanged rings of braided white gold and he kissed her soundly to the hollering applause of their friends and family.

When they returned from their honeymoon, they would be moving into their own house, but for the moment, they focused their attention on each other and their trip to Spain.

"I love you, Alec," she told him, gazing into his eyes as the zeppelin made its way to their destination.

"And I, you, my beautiful wife," he responded with a smile. He had been almost as broken as her when they met in Broadchurch. But they were both healing together and their future looked bright.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes: These are a little short. This whole story will be a bit short really. If I keep going with this series, the next story will be about their private investigating stuff. But that plot bunny hasn't started hopping around my brain just yet, so I'll be working on my other stories for now.**

Chapter two

They had finally decided on Cambridge. They would be close enough to London that they could help out Torchwood if needed. They'd also be close to Rose's family, which was important to both of them for the children's sake. The twins were extremely stubborn during all ultrasounds and they had no idea if they were having boys or girls or even one of each. It meant that the nursery was painted a neutral, soft yellow with blue accents, that would be welcoming no matter the gender.

Rose was reaching the end of her pregnancy now and their new little house was quite crowded with all of the "help" that had arrived over the last few days. Jackie had come to support her daughter through the birth, which meant that Pete and Tony were there as well. Beth Latimer was visiting since Rose had been there for her during Lizzy's birth. With the baby still so small, she came with her mother as well. The little house would be perfect for the four of them, but with three extra adults, one rambunctious boy and a baby, they were feeling a little cramped.

At the moment, Alec was rubbing his wife's back with firm circles. She groaned in relief at his ministrations.

"Rose! You want spinach or broccoli with dinner tonight?" Jackie shouted from the kitchen.

"Pizza!" she called back petulantly.

"Now, sweetheart, you know those little ones need healthy food," her mother chastised.

"Don't care, mmmm," she replied, still enjoying Alec's massage. "They tell me they want pizza."

"But I made shepherd's pie!" Jackie protested.

"Ugh, mum, you know I can't eat that while I'm pregnant. It makes my stomach turn," Rose argued.

"Fine. Eat your pizza then. Don't know why I even try anymore," she grumbled and returned to the kitchen.

"Can I get you a salad or something to go with your pizza, love?" Alec questioned, hoping to more gently urge her to eat some healthy foods.

"I suppose," she acquiesced. "Can it be Caesar though?"

"Of course," he replied with a kiss to the back of her neck.

Alec pulled out his phone to order the pizza that Rose had been demanding through the whole pregnancy. Mushrooms, pineapples, bacon, and extra cheese. She wanted it so often, that he had the number saved on his phone, the employees not even needing him to tell them what he wanted, just who it was for. He told them to add the salad before going back to rubbing Rose's back soothingly.

"Got the birthing tub all set up in your room, Rose. How you feeling?" Beth asked, sitting near them on the sofa with her little one perched on her hip.

"Everything hurts. I just want it to be over," she grumbled.

"Soon, love. Should be any day now," Alec assured her.

"Why don't we go for a walk while we wait for dinner?" Beth suggested, knowing that the exercise might encourage labour to start.

"But my feet hurt," Rose whined.

Beth rolled her eyes, but Alec tried to bribe her a bit, "How about I promise a lovely foot massage waiting for you if you can manage a twenty minute walk with Beth?"

"Oh alright. But there had better be some ice cream left in the freezer," she agreed and both Alec and Beth helped her up from the sofa.

While the ladies were out for their walk, Alec made sure that his wife's favourite ice cream was indeed in the freezer and poured himself a cup of tea from the pot Jackie had made earlier. He sighed exhaustedly and leaned against the countertop.

"Just you wait. Think you're tired now, but those babies will have the two of you up constantly," Jackie teased.

"Aye. I remember. I'm getting too old for this," he acknowledged.

Only ten minutes after Rose had left the house, she and Beth came back in the front door. Tony ran to the kitchen ahead of them, having been outside when they came back. "Alec! Alec! It's time for the babies!" the youngster shouted loudly.

"Really?!" he gasped as he dashed out of the kitchen to help support Rose through a contraction. Her trousers were wet, showing that her water had broken and she was leaning heavily on Beth as she breathed through the contraction.

"I'll phone the midwife," Jackie called from the next room.

"Are we ready for this, Alec?" Rose gasped once she could speak again.

He took all of her weight, wrapping her arms around his neck so that Beth could go get a few things ready for the birth and wrapped his arms around Rose's waist to massage her back again. "No one is ever quite ready, but you make due because you have to," he told her, remembering his first years as a parent.

"We haven't even picked names yet," she whimpered against his chest.

"Don't worry about that right now, love. You just focus on doing what your body needs to do and tell me how I can help, alright?" he told her soothingly. She nodded silently and tried to walk toward their bedroom, where the birthing tub was waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

By the time the midwife arrived, Rose was sitting in the shower with the hot water running over her back soothingly. She and the second attendant urged her out of the shower and into a nightgown to walk around the house and move things along. Rose complained the whole time and leaned heavily on Alec through all of the contractions, but after a few hours, she had progressed enough that she could settle in the birthing tub with her husband behind her.

"I can't do this anymore," Rose cried as another contraction wracked her body painfully.

"You're almost there, love. I'm so proud of you," Alec praised her and massaged her lower back firmly as the muscles clenched.

"Ok, Rose, you're ready. When that next one comes, I want you to give us a push and we'll have those babies here in no time," the midwife instructed.

There was a fair amount of screaming from Rose, followed by some healthy screaming from the two little boys that were born, and silent tears shed by Alec, Jackie, and Beth who were all by their side throughout the birth. There were no complications and everyone was soon clean, dry and Rose was snuggled with the twins in her warm bed.

"Have you two decided on names for them yet?" Jackie questioned.

"Not really," Rose replied, her voice a little scratchy from the labour.

"My Da's name is Frank," Alec suggested.

"Oh no! Their last name is Hardy, you can't use Frank or Joe," Jackie argued.

"Why not?" Pete asked as he entered the room with Tony to meet the new babies.

"Seriously? Frank and Joe Hardy? The Hardy boys?" Rose prompted, getting nothing but blank looks from the people native to this universe.

"Oh my god! Did this universe not have those books? It's a series of kids' mystery stories with brothers named Frank and Joe, called The Hardy Boys," Jackie explained. "Whether you've got 'em here or not, those names are out."

"Alright. Don't think Joe would be at the top of our list anyway," Alec agreed.

"Could we call one of them Jack? Had a good friend named Jack once," Rose suggested.

"Fine with me. What about Evan? Had an uncle by that name, he was always helpful when my parents were arguing," Alec proposed thoughtfully.

"I like that. Jack and Evan. We could use Peter and Frank for middle names, yeah? After both of our fathers?" Rose agreed. "Is that Franklin or Francis?"

"Franklin. So, what do you two think, eh?" Alec asked the babies sleeping in his wife's arms.

"I think that's a yes," Rose laughed as they both gurgled adorably.

"I think you've got enough help here now, Rose. Lizzy and I are going to head back to Broadchurch, but you come visit us soon, eh?" Beth told her with a quick hug.

"Absolutely. We'll make a vacation of it when these two are ready for a road trip, yeah?" Rose replied. "Thanks for being here. It was great to have someone else here that's been through a natural childbirth before."

"No problem. See you soon. And you spoil her to pieces, Hardy!" Beth called over her shoulder as she left the room to gather her things.

Jackie, Pete, and Tony stayed for another day before heading back to the mansion. By that point, Alec, Rose, and the twins had gotten into a routine. Well, as much of a routine as can be had with two babies who rarely sleep.


End file.
